News Briefing and Comment

Ekklesia runs a syndicated news and events listings service for churches, journalists, organisations and charities. Hundreds of churches and organisations now carry Ekklesia's news on their web sites. You can get Ekklesia's news on your web site in seconds, or by signing up for our daily email bulletin.

Besides hundreds of civilian deaths, Gaza lost 14,000 houses, 260 factories and 240 school buildings during the recent onslaught from the Israeli armed forces, an international aid conference has heard.

A reported decline in US Catholic and Southern Baptist membership raises eyebrows because they have grown dependably over the years, but now join the majority of mainline churches reporting a gradual decline.

The first UK Christian denomination to employ young people in a new youth strategy has pushed the boundaries of youth participation and aims to make a wider impact on society as well as on its own culture.

Genuine faith – in God, in the good, in people and in the future of our planet – grows through freedom, depends upon freedom to keep it honest, and can contribute to the shared openness and strived-for equality that is an essential part of our free flourishing, argues Simon Barrow.

Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) and Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) have jointly condemned the sponsorship of a youth science event by the UK's largest arms company - saying it promotes weapons sales.

The Methodist Relief and Development Fund (MRDF) has teamed up with Premier Christian Radio in challenging people to take simple actions that will change the world and confront global poverty during Lent.

The only known functioning ecumenical church grouping in Zimbabwe says Mugabe's Zanu-PF party is showing "bad faith" in relation to a unity government formed with the Movement for Democratic Change party earlier in February 2009.

The Convention on Modern Liberty, which is bringing together people from all parties and belief persuasions across Britain, has published a new report highlighting a massive governmental assault on civil rights.